Western Wedding Ideas
For The Country Couple

Western wedding ideas offer the perfect ingredients for a
country wedding that every cowboy and cowgirl will love. Even if you
don't live in the Wild West or the South, you can still have a country
western themed wedding.

Not only are western weddings fun they allow you to show off your
creativity, and they make your wedding stand out from the rest.

There are several essentials for the perfect western wedding, and
listed below are our favorite western wedding ideas. You may want to
bookmark this page since there is a lot of information here.

Locations

Western
Theme

Locations for a western wedding include old barns, country inns,
historic country homes, historic country churches, ranches, horse
farms, rodeos, country-themed restaurants, western-themed resorts and
old western villages.

Community halls and other public reception sites allow for easy
decoration since they usually have neutral colors and furniture.

If you live in the country
choosing a location should be relatively easy. Do a search or ask
around local towns about possible locations.

Consider having a Western destination wedding. Have your guests join
you for a weekend filled with country food and western atmosphere.

Programs

Western wedding
programs are the perfect start to your wedding
reception, and they help set the tone for the rest of your wedding day.

Attire

Encourage guests to wear western-themed outfits to your
wedding. This really helps to set the theme of your wedding, and it
encourages everyone to be involved even if this isn't their thing.

Western wedding dresses are very beautiful, but it is OK to wear a
traditional gown if you want to. For a western touch consider wearing
cowboy boot wedding shoes and a western wedding hat.

The groom and groomsmen always look stunning in cowboy hats. Even if
you don’t want them to wear them for the ceremony, you can still have
them wear the hats for photos and at the reception.

Ceremony Ideas

Saying your vows outside in a garden is a great way to go. If
not a country church or other religious locations can be beautiful as
well.

For transport to your ceremony and reception, consider renting a horse
drawn carriage, or if you are really daring ride horses from the
ceremony to the reception!

Reception Ideas

Many people think of gambling when they think of the Old West. Rent
gambling tables for the reception, and have prizes to give away for
winners. Many companies offer packages that come with the tables that
include staff and prizes (completely legal of course).

Rent a mechanical bull for the day. They are usually good for hours of
fun, laughter and incriminating photos.

These items make great decorations, and
they can be used in the background of your photos as well.

As a surprise right before your meal is served, have someone ring an
old
fashioned dinner bell when it is time to eat while yelling "Come and
get it!".

Flowers

Tie cactuses into your arrangements and centerpieces. It's even better
if the cactuses are in bloom.

Choose flowers that are in season and local to your wedding location. Garden wedding flowers
work very well for this wedding theme.

Western
Flowers

Centerpieces

For centerpieces
consider having flowers planted in old cowboy hats, boots or other
unique western containers.

Other items can be combined with flowers, including horseshoes, cowboy
hats and those listed above under reception ideas. Work with a good
florist to come up with some unique ideas.

Food

Find a caterer that specializes in country cooking and western wedding
ideas for your reception.
Many people think barbeque when they think of country western wedding
ideas, and you can have some fun with the menu.

Don’t limit yourself to traditional wedding reception food if you don’t
want to. If you want an open pit barbeque or pig roast, then go for it!

Cakes

Entertainment

Entertainment is very important for a western wedding. Start looking
early for a western band that is versatile enough to play new and old
classics to get your crowd moving.

DJs have the advantage of being able to play any song new or old, and
they can also interact with the crowd. Either way you want to hire a DJ
or band that specializes in Western-themed weddings and events and not
someone that will only be pretending for a day.

What western wedding is complete without country line dancing? Have a
dance instructor come in for the first hour of your reception to teach
your crowd how to line dance. Many DJ companies offer this as well.

Favors

At your reception, have a photographer take black and white photos of
your guests dressed up in old-time western wear. These make great
favors, and your guests will have something to hang on their wall that
will remind them of your wedding.

Other western wedding ideas for favors
include filling small ceramic cowboy boots or hats with your favorite
candy, planting a cactus in a pot for each guest and having
personalized barbeque sauce, hot sauce or miniature whiskey bottles to
give out.

Signature Drink

Consider having a signature
drink at your reception, and call it Moonshine. If all else
fails serve a drink with Whiskey in it, or give it a unique western
name.